Worship
Service for October 17, 2021
Prelude
Announcements: Click here for You Tube video of today’s worship.
We worship at Olivet Presbyterian Church in West Elizabeth at 9:45 am and at Bethesda United Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth at 11:15am. You are invited to join us in worship.
West Elizabeth's Food Bank will distribute food from Olivet Presbyterian Church this Tuesday, October 19 from 1:00-2:30pm.
Call to Worship
L: How beautiful is the Word of the Lord!
P: How wise are God’s commandments!
L: Through the Lord’s precepts, we gain
understanding.
P: Through God’s wisdom, we find truth.
L: The Lord is our God.
P: We are God’s people.
Opening Hymn – Lead On, O King Eternal #447/724
Prayer of Confession
From the
least of us to the greatest, Lord, we want to know You; we yearn to follow
where You lead us; we need Your guidance.
But even as we listen for Your direction, other voices compete for our
attention with teachings that suit our desires.
Our thoughts drift so far from Your truth, that fables and fancies begin
to seem real. Holy One, open our hearts
and minds. By Your Spirit, convince,
rebuke, and encourage us as only You can; teach, correct, and inspire us in the
ways of Your salvation. (Silent
prayers are offered) AMEN.
Assurance of Pardon
L: When we cry out, God helps us without
delay. Do not lose heart, for the Lord
forgives our iniquity and remembers our sin no more.
P: Thanks be to God for this saving
grace. AMEN.
Gloria Patri
Affirmation of Faith/Apostles’
Creed
I believe in God the Father
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the
third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on
the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge
the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the
resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN
Choral Anthem: We Are Called to be God’s People
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s
Prayer
Lord, with Your breath You call all things into being. It is at Your hand that we are here. It is at Your urging that we have come to
this place. It is Your Holy Spirit
speaking to our spirit that gathers us in this room. We have come to worship, to bow down, to
listen to Your Word spoken, sung, and prayed.
We do so, because You have called us out by name, after You made us as
companions for You and each other. As we
worship this day, help us also feel Your presence among us. We are often locked into our own little
worlds and give too little thought to all that You have done, not only for us
individually, but for the good of the earth, Your whole creation. The creation that You gave to us, not as an
end in itself, but rather for us to till and keep Your sacred garden which we
call our home.
Make us mindful that the persons in this room today are as
close to us as our own families. Make us
aware and sensitive to their needs and hurts, their sufferings and pain, as You
are aware of ours. Remind us that we are
indeed our brothers’ and our sisters’ keepers.
Because of that we lift up in prayer to You our most cherished loved
ones…
As we care for one another and have lifted up their
concerns in prayer, we also ask that in this time of silence you listen to the
beatings of our own heart and know what lies within. Hear our prayers, O God.
Help us live unto You and to Your most precious Son, who
came to give us life. And in his name,
we pray his prayer together…
Our Father, who art in
heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our
debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. AMEN.
Hymn – Rejoice
Ye Pure in Heart #145/169 (5 verses from Brown Hymnal)
Scripture Reading(s):
OT – Psalm 104
NT – Mark 10:35-45
Sermon – Who Will Sit on the Left and Right?
(based on Mark 10:35-45)
Why did you come to worship
today? What motivated you to get
yourself organized, get up, and get ready to come to church today in order to
be at worship this morning? It takes some
effort to participate in worship. It
rarely happens by accident.
Furthermore, why are you an
active member of this congregation? We
live at a time when many people turn away from any kind of commitment and
hesitate to volunteer for anything. The
big trend today, that has been growing for decades, is to cocoon, to wrap
yourself up away from others, or at least with just a few trusted friends or
family and stay home. The recent
pandemic, when we were literally forced to cocoon, did nothing but escalate
this trend. You don’t really enhance
your social status by participating in a church anymore, as in years gone
by. And yet people like you regularly
share in the gathered Christian community, you support the work of this
congregation with your gifts, and many of you work in both large and quiet ways
to further Christ’s mission and ministry here at our church. Why?
I think there are a variety
of reasons why people go to church … perhaps to gain a favor from God, perhaps
to satisfy a family member or perhaps to deepen a friendship. Some might come for the same reason you go
shopping, you want to get something you need.
For many the church is a kind of full-service mini-mart, a place to pick
up the spiritual resources you need in a quick, efficient manner. Perhaps some come to church for mood
alteration, to get a sense of forgiveness when they feel particularly
inadequate or to seek comfort in the midst of grief and disappointment. I think quite a few people come to church for
encouragement when they feel depressed, confidence when they feel afraid, and
inspiration when the week wears long and dreary. Some come simply out of habit. And if we are being honest, we must
acknowledge that some come because their parents made them come – even if those
parents have been long gone for years!
Why are you here? What makes you
a follower of Christ and a worshipper here this morning?
Why did the disciples
follow Jesus? Our Gospel reading this
morning focuses our attention on two brothers, James and John, often referred
to as the sons of Zebedee, or, as it is also translated, the Sons of Thunder. Zebedee was their father and having been
referred in the gospel account this way, we might guess that Zebedee had a
reputation. Everyone knew Zebedee. Whether his name originally meant Thunder or
his reputation brought about that meaning to his name, we’ll never truly
know. But these two sons of his were
known as the Sons of Thunder, perhaps because they too were loud and
well-known, full of power and might. And
as we read in today’s story, which is most revealing, is that these two
disciples in particular wanted positions of importance in the Kingdom of
God.
What the story reveals to
us is that it tells us something about the Mark, the author of this
gospel. Matthew tells this story
differently. He has Salome, the mother
of James and John, ask Jesus to give her sons positions of importance in the
coming Kingdom. Matthew must have
thought that it was unbecoming for an apostle to make such a bold request. I guess Jewish mothers have had a reputation
for furthering their children’s needs for centuries, playing the matchmaker or
playing the role of advances their children’s causes to further their influence
in the world. Afterall, a Jewish
mother’s reputation is advanced through the work and position of her
children. And, as we know, Matthew, was
writing his gospel to a Jewish audience.
Mark, however, did not have those same constraints when he wrote his
account and perhaps his is a bit more honest.
Mark would have us understand that the disciples were not paragons of
virtue but very ordinary people like you and me who also sought favor, power,
or position.
The lesson also gives us
some valuable insights into James and John themselves. They may have been considered lowly
fishermen, but they were ambitious. And
their family’s business was a thriving one.
Mark tells us, in the beginning of the gospel, that James and John left
their father and the hired workers to follow Jesus, which makes me wonder if
they had more than one boat, as well.
These brothers wanted favored positions – seats on Jesus’ right and on
his left – when he came into this Kingdom.
In a way they stand out for being boldly opportunistic, but all of the
disciples were dreaming about a time when Jesus might win out over his
opponents. Remember too, that this was
the time period in history when many small factions within Israel were
beginning to cause trouble for Rome, when many smaller uprisings were
threatening Rome’s power and control over Israel. Clearly, they believed in Jesus and placed
their confidence in his leadership.
But the great value of this
Gospel story is the manner in which it reveals what Jesus means when he speaks
of greatness, a designation quite different from the way the world uses that
word. For Jesus greatness is defined by
total, unconditional trust in God. What
is more, Jesus tells James and John that greatness is measured in service, in
spending our lives for the sake of others.
Like James and John, or
even Salome, we tend to define greatness in terms of power, privilege, and
prestige. We measure the importance of a
person by external markers – the house they own, the car they drive, the
ostentatious nature of their lifestyle.
We are impressed by the visible achievement of people: their prestigious
honors and academic degrees, the importance of their profession, and like
Salome in Matthew, sometimes even the accomplishments of their children.
But when Jesus speaks of
greatness he inevitably links it with service.
The meaning behind his words that he spoke to James and John, is that
what makes us great is not our ability to rule over others, but, rather, our
ability to invest ourselves in the welfare of others. In a world where most people want to put as
little as is necessary into life and to get out as much as possible, Jesus
speaks of a better way.
And Jesus calls us to that
“better way” today. Only when we are
willing to put more into life than we take out, to put service to others in a
place of honor, only then, Jesus tells us, are we worthy to be called his
followers. St Francis of Assisi said it
like this, “Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you
nothing that you have received, only what you have given.”
After over thirty-five
years of service as a pastor and a church leader, I am convinced that the
Church of Jesus Christ finds its validation not in its public rituals, nor in
solemn pronouncements on social issues, nor in the pristine quality of our
theology and teaching. The Church of
Jesus Christ establishes its credibility through its acts of mercy and kindness
– the cup of water to the thirsty, the bag of groceries to the distraught, the
life-giving accompaniment when we walk with someone who can go no farther
without a champion.
Once upon a time in a
far-off country, a king had twin sons.
One was strong and handsome. The
other was intelligent and wise. As the
ruler grew old, everyone speculated about which son the king would choose as
his successor – the strong son or the wise son.
In this land the sign of
kingship was a royal ring. Just before
the king died, he had a copy of the royal ring made and presented both rings to
his twin sons. The chief advisors to the
king asked him, “How shall we know which son wears the authentic royal ring?”
“You shall know,” answered
the king, “because the chosen one will reveal his right to rule by his
self-giving service to our people.”
And Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to become great among you
must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of
all.”
Many congregations declare at the conclusion of worship -
the worship has ended – now the service begins. Perhaps that is why we are really here to worship, in order for us to learn how to serve. Let that be our hope as we hear those words today.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Offertory
Doxology
Prayer of Dedication
God of
Grace, make us trustworthy stewards over these gifts. Help us live our lives and manage our
possessions that others might see the light of Christ within us and the way
that we live our lives. Bless these
gifts that we offer to You, so that they may do the work of Your Son in our
community and in our world. In Christ’s
name we pray. AMEN.
Closing Hymn – Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
#387/688 (3 verses from Blue Hymnal)
Benediction
You go nowhere by accident.
Wherever you go, God is
sending you.
Wherever you are, God has put you there.
God has a purpose in your being right where you are.
Our worship has ended, now the service begins.
Go in peace and serve the Lord. AMEN.
Postlude
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